It is important in the sawing of logs into lumber that the selection of saw cuts be made to maximize the quantity and quality of lumber which is yielded by the log, depending on the length, thickness and quality of the log, such as the presence of knots, defects and the like. As the first step in this process, the tree-length log is cut into shorter lengths, or "bucked", prior to further processing. There are two commonly used methods of carrying this out in a sawmill. A first method is a transverse system whereby the tree-length log is moved sideways through a battery of buck saws where it is segmented simultaneously into shorter logs. This method is not particularly well suited to modifying the position of the cross cut to maximize the value and recovery from the log. A second method is the lineal bucking system whereby the tree-length log is moved endwise down the conveyor to a saw which bucks the log into shorter lengths one cut at a time. This method is better at maximizing the value and recovery from the log, but in both this method and the transverse method the speed of the transport conveyor is necessarily fixed at the speed the log moves through the sawing station, resulting in low throughput. For example, since the feed conveyor in the lineal bucking system must be stopped while the log is being bucked, there is no opportunity for closing the gaps between the logs on the feed conveyor.
There is therefore a need for a log bucksawing system in which the speed of the infeed and outfeed conveyors can be operated independently of the progress of the log at the sawing station.